ODI World Cup 2023: SWOT analysis of New Zealand Cricket Team – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

New Zealand. (Photo Source: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Ardent cricket supporters are eagerly waiting for the 2023 World Cup which will kick off on October 5 with the contest between the 2019 World Cup finalists New Zealand and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Under Kane Williamson’s captaincy, the Kiwi side will look to light up the tournament and take the World Cup trophy home for the first time.

The Kiwis will go to the tournament as the underdogs, but they have earned the reputation of performing turnarounds in ICC World Cups. Williamson added the World Test Championship (WTC) mace to his achievement as a skipper in 2021. This time, his endeavours will be to guide his side to the maiden World Cup trophy and break into the list of World Cup-winning skippers. 

In the last few white-ball tournaments of the International Cricket Council (ICC), New Zealand have performed well and in the upcoming competition, they will look to continue their excellent run. Prior to the World Cup 2023, let’s have a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the New Zealand cricket team

Here is the SWOT analysis of the New Zealand cricket team

Strengths

Excellent leadership

Kane Williamson will make a comeback in international cricket after seven months following his recovery from a knee injury. New Zealand’s batting completely revolves mostly around Williamson as he is the most experienced in their batting line-up. Williamson’s calm and composed attitude and ferocious strategies on the field make him exceptional as a skipper.

This year, New Zealand succeeded in winning their first ODI series on Pakistani soil after 1976. In this series victory, Williamson made a vital contribution to his team with both captaincy and bat. Racking up 164 runs with a couple of fifties in three matches at a strike rate of 79.22, he ended up as the second-leading run-scorer in the series.

Remarkable bowling attack

New Zealand will land with a stupendous bowling unit in the 2023 World Cup. Illustrious quicks such as Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Matt Henry will reinforce the team’s pace attack under the leadership of their fast-bowling spearhead Trent Boult. Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi will bolster the spin department with their experience and excellence.

Both Santner and Sodhi provide a variety to New Zealand’s spin-bowling unit. On one hand, Santner makes the job of batters difficult with his left-arm spin bowling while Sodhi is known for castling batters with his right-arm wrist-spin bowling. Both turners will look forward to taking advantage of Indian pitches which are heaven for skilled spinners.

Talking more about their pace attack, Boult, Southee, and Ferguson are accustomed to Indian conditions as they visit India to play the Indian Premier League (IPL). The pace trio will be expected to utilize their experience and do wonders with the ball for their side. 

Boult, who made a comeback in ODI cricket almost after a year, looked sensational with the ball in the four-match ODI series against England. The Kiwi paceman grabbed eight scalps in two matches and emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the four-match one-day series.

Weaknesses

Batters’ infirmity against spinners

Most batters in the New Zealand squad struggle to counter spinners, and on the turning tracks of India, the matter can become worse for the Kiwi side. Except for skipper Williamson, no other player holds fine numbers against spinners. Key batters such as Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway, and Glenn Phillips also don’t look comfortable while confronting spin bowling. 

Dismal ODI record in India

The Black Caps have compiled horrendous numbers in India in the One-Day format. In 61 ODIs, the Kiwi team has won only 18 and lost 41. These numbers might concern New Zealand team supporters who want to see their side crowned as the champions after the conclusion of the upcoming ODI tournament. 

Opportunities

New Zealand have put up impressive shows in white-ball ICC tournaments. After the 2003 World Cup, the Black Caps is the only team that qualified for the semi-final four consecutive times. In the last two World Cup editions, they concluded their journey as the runners-up.

In the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Rose Bowl, they beat India and shattered the psychological chain of choking in finals. This time, they have a lot of incredible players in their line-up who possess the potential to defy all odds to pull off the coveted trophy.   

Threats

New Zealand don’t have something great to cheer about their World Cup record in sub-continent condition. So far, three World Cup installments (1987, 1996, and 2011 editions) have been held in sub-continent counties, in which New Zealand have delivered a decent performance to their supporters in just one which was played in 2011.

In the 1987 World Cup hosted by India and Pakistan, they won only two out of six games and failed to find a place in the semi-final. The World Cup returned to the sub-continent countries in 1996 with India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka jointly hosting the event. This time, the Black Caps started well in the tournament with their 11-run win against England but struggled against other quality sides such as South Africa and Pakistan. In the quarter-finals, they met their neighbours Australia in Madras (now Chennai) and got a six-wicket hammering which ousted them from the competition.

Along with these records, unpredictable Asian sides might also trouble New Zealand in the upcoming competition The sub-continent teams such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan aren’t considered heavyweights to win the title but these sides have the capabilities to wreck the campaign of teams that don’t have batters who can tackle spin well. Spinners such as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, and Dunith Wellalage belong to the league of extraordinary and they can cause problems for the Kiwi batters who lack experience on dusty pitches in India.